Countries With the Highest Married by 18
Every country with a figure for married by 18, ranked from highest to lowest. The top three are Niger (76.3%), Central African Republic (61%) and Chad (60.6%). The middle country of the 141 has 17%.
What this measures
Women who were first married by age 18 (% of women ages 20-24), in % of women aged 20-24. Source: UNICEF. For this measure, higher is worse.
From household surveys, mostly in lower-income countries, and only in years a survey ran. No year reaches sixty countries, so the latest value used is up to a decade old for some. Rich countries rarely report it at all, which shapes any link with income.
The full ranking
Each country’s latest figure, from 2010–2025. The year beside each value says when it was measured.
| Rank | Country | Married by 18 | Year | Region |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Niger | 76.3% | 2012 | Sub-Saharan Africa |
| 2 | Central African Republic | 61% | 2019 | Sub-Saharan Africa |
| 3 | Chad | 60.6% | 2019 | Sub-Saharan Africa |
| 4 | South Sudan | 51.5% | 2010 | Sub-Saharan Africa |
| 5 | Mali | 48.5% | 2024 | Sub-Saharan Africa |
| 6 | Mozambique | 48.4% | 2023 | Sub-Saharan Africa |
| 7 | Bangladesh | 47.2% | 2025 | South Asia |
| 8 | Guinea | 46.5% | 2018 | Sub-Saharan Africa |
| 9 | Eritrea | 40.7% | 2010 | Sub-Saharan Africa |
| 10 | Ethiopia | 40.3% | 2016 | Sub-Saharan Africa |
| 11 | Madagascar | 38.8% | 2021 | Sub-Saharan Africa |
| 12 | Malawi | 38.7% | 2024 | Sub-Saharan Africa |
| 13 | Burkina Faso | 38.2% | 2021 | Sub-Saharan Africa |
| 14 | Mauritania | 36.6% | 2021 | Sub-Saharan Africa |
| 15 | Suriname | 36% | 2018 | Latin America & Caribbean |
| 16 | Nicaragua | 35.2% | 2012 | Latin America & Caribbean |
| 17 | Nepal | 34.9% | 2022 | South Asia |
| 18 | Sudan | 34.2% | 2014 | Sub-Saharan Africa |
| 19 | Honduras | 34% | 2019 | Latin America & Caribbean |
| 20 | Uganda | 34% | 2016 | Sub-Saharan Africa |
| 21 | Zimbabwe | 33.7% | 2019 | Sub-Saharan Africa |
| 22 | Belize | 33.5% | 2016 | Latin America & Caribbean |
| 23 | Nigeria | 33.4% | 2024 | Sub-Saharan Africa |
| 24 | Guyana | 32.3% | 2020 | Latin America & Caribbean |
| 25 | Dominican Republic | 31.5% | 2019 | Latin America & Caribbean |
| 26 | Lao PDR | 30.5% | 2023 | East Asia & Pacific |
| 27 | Senegal | 30.2% | 2023 | Sub-Saharan Africa |
| 28 | Congo, Dem. Rep. | 29.9% | 2024 | Sub-Saharan Africa |
| 29 | Cameroon | 29.8% | 2018 | Sub-Saharan Africa |
| 30 | Sierra Leone | 29.6% | 2019 | Sub-Saharan Africa |
| 31 | Yemen, Rep. | 29.6% | 2023 | Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan |
| 32 | Equatorial Guinea | 29.5% | 2011 | Sub-Saharan Africa |
| 33 | Guatemala | 29.5% | 2015 | Latin America & Caribbean |
| 34 | Cuba | 29.4% | 2019 | Latin America & Caribbean |
| 35 | Barbados | 29.2% | 2012 | Latin America & Caribbean |
| 36 | Tanzania | 29.1% | 2022 | Sub-Saharan Africa |
| 37 | Afghanistan | 28.7% | 2023 | Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan |
| 38 | Sao Tome and Principe | 28% | 2019 | Sub-Saharan Africa |
| 39 | Iraq | 27.9% | 2018 | Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan |
| 40 | Benin | 27.5% | 2022 | Sub-Saharan Africa |
| 41 | Congo, Rep. | 27.3% | 2015 | Sub-Saharan Africa |
| 42 | Papua New Guinea | 27.3% | 2018 | East Asia & Pacific |
| 43 | Jamaica | 26.9% | 2022 | Latin America & Caribbean |
| 44 | Panama | 26.4% | 2013 | Latin America & Caribbean |
| 45 | Cote d'Ivoire | 25.8% | 2021 | Sub-Saharan Africa |
| 46 | Guinea-Bissau | 25.7% | 2019 | Sub-Saharan Africa |
| 47 | Liberia | 24.9% | 2020 | Sub-Saharan Africa |
| 48 | Togo | 24.8% | 2017 | Sub-Saharan Africa |
| 49 | Uruguay | 24.6% | 2013 | Latin America & Caribbean |
| 50 | St. Lucia | 24% | 2012 | Latin America & Caribbean |
| 51 | Zambia | 23.9% | 2024 | Sub-Saharan Africa |
| 52 | Colombia | 23.4% | 2015 | Latin America & Caribbean |
| 53 | Turks and Caicos Islands | 23.3% | 2020 | Latin America & Caribbean |
| 54 | Angola | 23.1% | 2024 | Sub-Saharan Africa |
| 55 | Gambia, The | 23.1% | 2020 | Sub-Saharan Africa |
| 56 | India | 22.3% | 2021 | South Asia |
| 57 | Ecuador | 22.2% | 2018 | Latin America & Caribbean |
| 58 | Paraguay | 21.6% | 2016 | Latin America & Caribbean |
| 59 | Solomon Islands | 21.3% | 2015 | East Asia & Pacific |
| 60 | Vanuatu | 20.9% | 2023 | East Asia & Pacific |
| 61 | Comoros | 20.7% | 2022 | Sub-Saharan Africa |
| 62 | El Salvador | 19.7% | 2021 | Latin America & Caribbean |
| 63 | Burundi | 19% | 2017 | Sub-Saharan Africa |
| 64 | Kiribati | 18.4% | 2019 | East Asia & Pacific |
| 65 | Pakistan | 18.3% | 2018 | Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan |
| 66 | Mexico | 18.2% | 2023 | Latin America & Caribbean |
| 67 | Naoero | 18.2% | 2023 | East Asia & Pacific |
| 68 | Cambodia | 17.9% | 2022 | East Asia & Pacific |
| 69 | Peru | 17.9% | 2024 | Latin America & Caribbean |
| 70 | Costa Rica | 17.1% | 2018 | Latin America & Caribbean |
| 71 | Thailand | 17% | 2022 | East Asia & Pacific |
| 72 | Iran, Islamic Rep. | 16.7% | 2010 | Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan |
| 73 | Indonesia | 16.3% | 2017 | East Asia & Pacific |
| 74 | Ghana | 16.1% | 2022 | Sub-Saharan Africa |
| 75 | Myanmar | 16% | 2016 | East Asia & Pacific |
| 76 | Egypt, Arab Rep. | 15.8% | 2021 | Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan |
| 77 | Argentina | 15.5% | 2020 | Latin America & Caribbean |
| 78 | Azerbaijan | 15% | 2023 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 79 | Haiti | 14.9% | 2017 | Latin America & Caribbean |
| 80 | Timor-Leste | 14.9% | 2016 | East Asia & Pacific |
| 81 | Turkiye | 14.7% | 2018 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 82 | Viet Nam | 14.6% | 2021 | East Asia & Pacific |
| 83 | Bolivia | 14.5% | 2023 | Latin America & Caribbean |
| 84 | Morocco | 13.7% | 2018 | Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan |
| 85 | Lesotho | 13.4% | 2024 | Sub-Saharan Africa |
| 86 | West Bank and Gaza | 13.4% | 2020 | Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan |
| 87 | Gabon | 13.3% | 2021 | Sub-Saharan Africa |
| 88 | Kenya | 12.5% | 2022 | Sub-Saharan Africa |
| 89 | Moldova | 12.2% | 2012 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 90 | Albania | 11.8% | 2018 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 91 | Tonga | 10.1% | 2019 | East Asia & Pacific |
| 92 | Jordan | 9.9% | 2023 | Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan |
| 93 | Sri Lanka | 9.8% | 2016 | South Asia |
| 94 | Georgia | 9.4% | 2022 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 95 | Philippines | 9.4% | 2022 | East Asia & Pacific |
| 96 | Kyrgyz Republic | 9.2% | 2023 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 97 | Ukraine | 9.1% | 2012 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 98 | Bhutan | 9% | 2023 | South Asia |
| 99 | Tajikistan | 8.8% | 2023 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 100 | Cabo Verde | 8.4% | 2018 | Sub-Saharan Africa |
| 101 | Mongolia | 8.1% | 2023 | East Asia & Pacific |
| 102 | North Macedonia | 7.5% | 2019 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 103 | Samoa | 7.4% | 2020 | East Asia & Pacific |
| 104 | Namibia | 6.9% | 2013 | Sub-Saharan Africa |
| 105 | Romania | 6.9% | 2021 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 106 | Djibouti | 6.5% | 2019 | Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan |
| 107 | Russian Federation | 6.2% | 2017 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 108 | Kazakhstan | 6.1% | 2024 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 109 | Turkmenistan | 6.1% | 2024 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 110 | Lebanon | 6% | 2016 | Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan |
| 111 | Montenegro | 5.8% | 2018 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 112 | Rwanda | 5.5% | 2020 | Sub-Saharan Africa |
| 113 | Serbia | 5.5% | 2019 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 114 | Armenia | 5.3% | 2016 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 115 | Belarus | 4.7% | 2019 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 116 | Trinidad and Tobago | 4.2% | 2022 | Latin America & Caribbean |
| 117 | Libya | 4.1% | 2025 | Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan |
| 118 | Fiji | 4% | 2021 | East Asia & Pacific |
| 119 | Oman | 4% | 2014 | Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan |
| 120 | Kosovo | 4% | 2020 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 121 | Algeria | 3.8% | 2019 | Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan |
| 122 | South Africa | 3.6% | 2016 | Sub-Saharan Africa |
| 123 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 3.5% | 2012 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 124 | Saudi Arabia | 3.4% | 2024 | Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan |
| 125 | Uzbekistan | 3.4% | 2022 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 126 | China | 2.8% | 2020 | East Asia & Pacific |
| 127 | Tunisia | 2.4% | 2023 | Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan |
| 128 | Maldives | 2.2% | 2017 | South Asia |
| 129 | Eswatini | 1.9% | 2022 | Sub-Saharan Africa |
| 130 | Tuvalu | 1.8% | 2020 | East Asia & Pacific |
| 131 | Qatar | 1.7% | 2023 | Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan |
| 132 | Israel | 0.8% | 2022 | Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan |
| 133 | Denmark | 0.7% | 2021 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 134 | Lithuania | 0.2% | 2022 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 135 | Belgium | 0.1% | 2020 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 136 | Finland | 0.1% | 2017 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 137 | Korea, Dem. People's Rep. | 0.1% | 2017 | East Asia & Pacific |
| 138 | Singapore | 0.1% | 2025 | East Asia & Pacific |
| 139 | Chile | 0% | 2024 | Latin America & Caribbean |
| 140 | United Kingdom | 0% | 2021 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 141 | Norway | 0% | 2022 | Europe & Central Asia |
More on married by 18
- Countries With the Lowest Married by 18
- Married by 18 by country: trend over time and what it goes with
Related rankings
- Countries With the Highest Gender Wage Gaps
- Countries With the Highest Gender Inequality Index
- Countries With the Highest Gender Development Index
- Countries With the Highest Women's Political Empowerment
- Countries With the Highest Women Ministers
- Countries With the Highest Women in Parliament
- Countries With the Highest Women in Management
- Countries With the Highest Gender Scores
A ranking describes countries, not the people in them, and a high or low place does not by itself say why. All country rankings.